ONLINE AUCTIONS ON GIFT CARDS OFFER BARGAINS.

Byline: JULIA M. SCOTT Staff Writer

If you think the $100 Victoria's Secret gift card you bought for your girlfriend is going to net $100 of lingerie, think again.

As gift cards are now the most popular holiday present, plenty will be auctioned online -- often at discounted amounts.

In fact, they fetch very different values on eBay, according to an economics professor at Loyola Marymount University.

``In other words, people who receive gift cards are willing to accept $85 in cash in exchange for a $100 gift card in eBay,'' Jennifer Offenberg said.

Offenberg, 26, discovered the discount while searching for a new suit. The gray J.Crew two-piece she had her eye on was pricey enough that she searched for discounts online. Gift cards, she discovered, were selling lower than their stated value, so she snapped a few up and saved almost 30 percent on the suit.

Offenberg kept tabs on gift card auctions, tracking 2,000 sales over six months in 2004. Her study is going to be published in the Journal of Economic Perspectives in May.

Offenberg found that the resale value for particular retailers was fairly consistent. The bigger stores, which have a wider variety of items for sale, had higher resale values than retailers like Victoria's Secret that peddle a narrow range of products. Convenient locations also boosted resale price.

But no matter what the store, higher value cards had steeper discounts.

Home Depot cards were the most valuable, with a $100 card reselling for $91, while a $100 card from Abercrombie & Fitch sold for just $79.

As more consumers get hip to gift card discounts, resale prices may rise. But that could be countered by a growing number of secondhand gift cards on the market.

As more people buy them, the stigma that they are an impersonal gift has faded. For the first time this year, gift cards outpace every other category of presents.

More than half of consumers -- 66 percent to be exact -- will buy gift cards this year as part of their holiday shopping, according to to survey by the consulting firm Deloitte & Touche. That's more than clothing (59 percent), CDs and DVDs (52 percent) and toys (46 percent).

``A lot of people are stressed for time right now,'' said Jackie Hernandez, a partner at Deloitte. ``Not only have you got to shop for the gifts, you've got to wrap the gift. You get a gift card, it goes in an envelope, you're done.''

If you do buy a gift card, make sure it's for a store the receiver shops at. If not, go for stores that sell a wide variety of items, like Target or Lowe's.

For Robert Woodward, the ideal card is from Best Buy.

``Electronics are changing so fast that you need to stay on top of the technology,'' said Woodward, 57, of Santa Monica.

Rosie Hale, who works in Woodland Hills, said she covets cards from Barnes & Noble.

``I can buy things there through the year, and I have been known to re-gift them,'' she said as she headed to lunch Friday.

Marlene Peek doesn't take chances with a particular store, even if it is big.

``One year I bought a specific one for my daughter and she didn't like anything at the store,'' said Peek, 55, of North Hills. Now she buys Mastercard pre-paid debit cards.

``I thought this would be more convenient,'' Peek said.

julia.scott(at)dailynews.com

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What gift cards fetch on eBay

SOURCE: Jennifer Offenberg, Loyola Marymount University